Day 102 on the Mississippi River

Day 102

September 16, 2022

Friday

LRM 437

1858 miles completed

I paddled 33 miles today.

Oh the places you will go, and the people you will meet!

I made it to Vicksburg today. I had to paddle about a mile up the Yazoo river. But there was not much current. I stayed close to the left side where the current was the least.

Layne Logue is Quapaw Canoe in Vicksburg.  Layne picked me up and took me to the Mulberry Hotel. He took all my gear and my kayak with him and he’s holding it till Sunday. Then he will come back pick me up and take me back to the river. The landing is about 900 feet from the Mulberry.

The Mulberry Hotel is new and beautiful. It’s a very nice place. Check-in was a hassle. It took 45 minutes because the clerk was so slow.

The town is old and small but it has a few really nice restaurants. I like it. I ate at the brewery. It was good, and it’s only a two block walk from the hotel.

I am really amazed at how many acquaintances I made in one day.

I met two guys in the hotel lobby who had to wait 45 minutes while I checked in, because there was only one really slow desk clerk… Benjamin Boyd and Jaedon Boyd. They are in Vicksburg for a cooking contest at the Elks Lodge tomorrow. They invited me to the Elks Lodge for Saturday. There will be lots of food and in the evening there will be live entertainment.

In the lobby of Mulberry I met a young man who lives in the Mulberry. Floors three through seven are apartments. His name is William Wooten. We took our Heineken‘s out to the pool to sit out there and talk. Then his friend, Brayden Williams, joined us. Brayden is also a resident of the Mulberry. They seemed to enjoy listening to me tell about my trip down the Mississippi. They invited me to join them on Saturday to hear Kingfish play the blues. If you don’t know, Kingfish is really good at the blues, and he is really fat.

I went to the key city brewing company for dinner. I sat at the bar and ordered pizza. That’s where I met Michael Matis (LSU). He sat next to me at the bar. I enjoyed talking to him very much. It turned out that one of the bartenders was a previous acquaintance of his. They had worked together in a bar somewhere else. So they got to renew their acquaintance.

Michael is also a resident of the Mulberry. He has just relocated to Vicksburg for his job.

Michael ordered pork shoulder steak and grits. I said that sounds really good I will have one too.

Michael shared  my pizza while we waited for our pork shoulder.

We discussed my trip, good whiskeys, and girlfriends.

Michael was drinking Woodford Double Oaked. It is $17 a shot. I was drinking George Dickel. Michael said that his ex girlfriend bought a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle for $1000. (He later corrected it had been only $850). When they broke up he said he would buy her out on the bottle of Pappy. They ended up opening it and drinking half of it.

I asked him: “how was it“?

He said: “ Terrible, you’re buying the name”.

“So,“ I said, “that Woodford Double Oaked is better?“

He ordered me a Double Oaked.

We enjoyed the pork shoulder and grits. I got a to go box for the rest of the pizza. The Woodford was really good: the caramel taste. When I tried to pay, the bartender, Michael’s friend, just shook her head. Michael had picked up the check.

Michael said that he would take me to Walmart tomorrow if I wanted to go, just so it’s not before 10 o’clock. I thanked him again for buying my dinner and for the offer to get groceries. When I left I saw he had put in a dip and had fixed himself a spit cup.

Vicksburg… nice town.